During Tesla's shareholder meeting on Thursday, CEO Elon Musk spoke about his interactions with former US President Donald Trump, confirming their conversations and sharing some details about their discussions.
According to Musk, Trump often calls him unexpectedly without apparent reason. "He does call me out of the blue for no reason," Musk said of Trump. "I don't know why, but he does."
Musk mentioned that Trump is "very nice when he calls," and he recounted telling the former president that electric vehicles (EVs) are "pretty good for the future" and that "America is the leader in electric cars."
In March, Trump met the Tesla CEO at Peltz's estate. "I've been friendly with him over the years. I helped him when I was president. I helped him. I've liked him," the former US President told CNBC. Taking to X in the same month, Musk argued that the US needs a "red wave," further noting that the country is "toast" if the Republican party doesn't win.
Speaking to moderator Andrew Ross Sorkin during the New York Times Dealbook Summit, the business magnate admitted he didn't plan to vote for Biden. He also assured that this didn't mean he would vote for Trump.
However, while talking to Don Lemon in March, the X owner mentioned he is "leaning away" from supporting President Joe Biden in the presidential race. Musk confirmed that he doesn't plan to donate to Trump or Biden.
Tesla Gains Fans Among Trump's Inner Circle
The 52-year-old billionaire recently revealed that many of Trump's friends now own Teslas and are very fond of them. He also mentioned that Trump is "a huge fan of the Cybertruck." The tech billionaire confirmed that he and Trump have had discussions following a Wall Street Journal report last month describing their "growing alliance."
According to sources cited by the Journal, Trump is considering offering Musk an advisory role in the White House if he wins the presidency in this fall's election.
Trump's Niece Criticises X's Recent Changes
Meanwhile, a relative of Trump is criticising Musk's management of one of his businesses, X. According to Trump's niece, social media platform X's decision to hide likes under Elon Musk's leadership is a mistake. On June 12, social media platform X made user likes private, following Musk's statement about fostering a platform free from like-based attacks.
Several users, including Trump's niece, have voiced concerns despite the new feature. In an X post, Mary L. Trump wrote: "I didn't think it was possible, but the latest 'improvement' to Twitter shows that @elonmusk is even stupider than I thought."
A considerable number of X users took to the comments section of her post to voice their outrage. Her post had already amassed over 415.5K views while writing. "I wish we could sue him for this platform he destroyed," one X user reacted.
Another wrote: "X has blocked me from liking anything negative pertaining to 34 times convicted felon!" "This platform has steadily gotten worse," a third user said.
"I'm sure he's doing it for his vanity, just like Trump. Elon couldn't stand criticism on Twitter, so he bought it to control it. Now, I'm betting he couldn't stand people pointing out the various disgusting and conspiratorial posts he likes, so he got rid of it."
On the other hand, some X users welcomed Musk's decision. Oli London, the well-known but divisive English internet personality, praised it as a "great new feature," suggesting it "will definitely help users feel more comfortable liking posts they agree with."
Ed Krassenstein, a formerly prominent social media personality, supported the move. "Good move. It's a step toward providing people with more privacy. If people want to share what they like, they can repost the content," he wrote.
This development follows X's recent update to its content guidelines, which permits "consensually produced and distributed" adult content on the platform. This change has sparked controversy, with some social media users expressing disapproval, fearing it will negatively impact their experience on the platform.
